The suspected new type of killer whale has been spotted off the coast of Chile (close to Cape Horn ) and the whales are thought to inhabit the world’s southernmost oceans. Deploying a crossbow dart, a science team on board the vessel Australis, took tiny pieces of skin and blubber to be used as genetic samples from the orcas, which will determine whether or not they are indeed a new ‘eco type’.
The possibility of the different type of killer whale dates back to 1955 and some photographs from New Zealand that pictured a group of killer whales stranded on a beach. According to Robert Pitman, who was part of the new discovery: “This was a very different-looking group of killer whales.” Pitman works with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Speaking with NPR, Pittman explains that the whales are smaller than other killer whales. In terms of other differentiating features the killer whales have rounded heads and pointier fins. They are also several feet shorter in length compared with other orcas. Most characteristic of all, the whales have a tiny eye patch, in the form of a white spot under each eye.
The newly discovered killer whales are thought to live in offshore waters, in some of the most inhospitable areas of the ocean. While they appear physiologically different, further genetic tests are required to conform that the killer whales are, in fact, a new type of even a new species. In the meantime, the whales are being referred to as ‘Type D’.
Much of the media has presented the discover as a ‘new species’. However, officially killer whales still fall into one species, Orcinus orca. However, there is on-going discussion about whether different types are sufficiently distinct and deserving of their own scientific name. With the potential ‘Type D’, there are four types of killer whale. According to National Geographic, Type A killer whales are the ‘typical’ orcas (found worldwide) and which tend to feed on minke whales; Type Bs are smaller and mainly eat seals; whereas Type Cs tend to go after fish.
